MEDITATIONS ON MIDDLE-EARTH

Edited by Karen Haber

0-312-27536-6

235pp/$24.95/November 2001

On the eve of the release of the live-action “The
Fellowship of the Ring,” fantasist Karen Haber has commissioned several
other fantasy authors to write short essays discussing what J.R.R. Tolkien
has meant to them, on both a personal and professional level.The results are collected in Meditations on Middle-Earth, a
collection with no academic pretensions.Instead, the essays read as if they are parts of discussions the
authors are having about someone who has had a profound influence on them.

What is interesting is that although the book
purports to be Meditations on Middle-Earth, the majority of the themes
discussed by the authors deal with the Middle-Earth presented in The
Lord of the Rings, rather than in The Hobbit.References to The Hobbit abound, frequently noting that it
was the introduction to Tolkien and the impetus for diving into The
Lord of the Rings, but it definitely comes off as a second-class (but
not second-rate) work.

Poul Anderson, who began publishing stories in 1947,
seven years before The Fellowship of the Rings appeared, discusses
his own introduction to Tolkien’s writing by fellow author Reginald
Bretnor, as well as the commercial effects the publication of The Lord
of the Rings had on his own fantasy works in the early 1970s.Anderson is unique in this book as having a career which pre-dates
the publication of The Lord of the Rings.The majority of the other authors discuss how his writing
influenced their own decision to write fantasy.

George R.R. Martin begins the book by describing
Tolkien as the forerunner of all modern fantasists, a theme
frequently repeated in the following pages. Raymond Feist views
Tolkien as the spiritual grandfather of those who write fantasy, while
Harry Turtledove discusses his own early attempts to write a sequel to The
Lord of the Rings.Esther
Friesner points out that reading Tolkien led her to write humorous
fantasy, despite the fact that Tolkien is epic fantasy of the most pure
sort.One of the more moving
reminiscences is Michael Swanwick’s juxtaposition of reading the trilogy
to his son and remembering his own childhood and his adult
reinterpretation of Tolkien’s words. Diane Duane’s reminiscence
takes the form of a young girl who finished reading the second book only
to realize she would not be able to obtain the third book until the next
day.She uses this situation
to expound on the purpose of reading and what it means to someone in their
formative years.

Charles De Lint describes discovering The Hobbit in
a world completely different from today's world. Not so much
politically or culturally, but by the simple fact that there were not
shelves upon shelves of thick fantasy novels which turned Tolkien's
creations into archetypes. De Lint reminds the reader that one of
the magical powers of discovering Tolkien was that he was sui generis,
while today he is almost lost in a sea of imitators.

Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series which
began by parodying many of the tropes Tolkien used in fantastic fiction,
looks at Tolkien’s growth from cult author to an author frequently
ranked among the favorite of the last century.Given Pratchett’s own position in British literary circles, he
has a, perhaps, unique perspective on this matter.

Another unique perspective is provided in Glenn
Hurdling’s conversation with the Brothers Hildebrandt, who built much of
their career illustrated various versions The Hobbit and The
Lord of the Rings.Their
discussion mostly revolves around the work they did on the Tolkien
calendars of the 1970s, but they also talk about how Tolkien’s work
influenced their own non-Tolkien-related projects.

Douglas A. Anderson brings a critics eye to
Tolkien’s work, but does not descend into academic jargon in explaining
the importance of The Lord of the Rings to literature.Anderson also takes a look at much of the criticism which has
dismissed The Lord of the Rings as merely fantasy.Rather than the “Period Piece” Harold Bloom has dismissed is
as, Anderson defends Swanwick’s assertion that The Lord of the Rings
retains relevance.This point
was driven home by the fact that as I was reading Meditations on
Middle-Earth Tom Shippey was winning a World Fantasy Award for his
study J.R.R. Tolkien:Author
of the Century.

While noting that she is not an academic, Robin Hobb
also takes a look at the writing of The Lord of the Rings and how it
affected her emotionally and psychologically.Hobb also notes that as an aspiring author she viewed The Lord
of the Rings as a challenge to write something which would have
meaning in the light of a book she considered to be a masterpiece.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s contribution may be the most
like an English teacher’s, pointing out the rhythmic meter which appears
frequently in Tolkien’s writing.Le
Guin’s analysis stems from reading the books out loud to her children
(as Swanwick discussed in his essay) and noticing certain patterns which
would be less noticeable in a silent reading.Given Tolkien’s penchant for poetry, Le Guin surmised that these
were included intentionally.

Perhaps Orson Scott Card comes closest to explaining why
the meditations on Tolkien included in this work are not analytical in
nature. He views The Lord of the Rings as a story first and
foremost. Dissecting it in literary terms does not say anything
about Tolkien or the tale, but rather says something about "whichever
lit-crit lens" happens to be used (p.155). Rather than try to
deconstruct Middle-Earth, Card suggests the reader simply enjoy the world
Tolkien has created for himself and deigned to share.

In counterpoint to Card's assertion that what grabs the
reader is the story, Lisa Goldstein believes that Tolkien has created a
myth for modern times in the writing of The Lord of the Rings.
In a time where people have lost faith in their institutions and legends,
they find another world, not necessarily simpler, but with ethical
demarcations, in Middle Earth. Terri Windling also views The Lord of the Rings in terms of
myth, or rather fairy tale and ties that understanding in to Tolkien's
more explicit work on fairy tales.

The entire book is illustrated with sketches by John
Howe.Rather than
illustrating specific points made by the authors, these drawings are taken
directly from scenes in the books.Each
one is identified by title, colume, book and chapter.While they may not have the finished look that one of the
Hildebrandt’s calendar pieces have, they speak to a visceral
understanding of the events and bring up memories of passages from
Tolkien’s work.

In the end, Meditations on Middle-Earth
probably says more about the writing careers and styles of the authors who
are included than about Tolkien’s own writing.However, Tolkien also has had more critical examination than most,
if not all, of the contributors.While
Meditations on Middle-Earth may not offer much critical insight
into Tolkien’s writing, reading it feels like a friendly conversation
among similar-minded fans whose lives have been influenced and enhanced by
the reading experience. Where the essays in Meditations on
Middle-Earth succeed most is making the reader want to put the book
down and pick up the nearest copy of The Lord of the Rings.

Karen Haber

Preface: The Beat Goes On

George R.R. Martin

Introduction

Raymond Feist

Our Grandfather:
Meditations on J.R.R. Tolkien

Poul Anderson

Awakening the Elves

Michael Swanwick

A Changeling Returns

Esther M. Friesner

If You Give a Girl a Hobbit

Harry Turtledove

The Ring and I

Terry Pratchett

Cult Classic

Robin Hobb

A Bar and a Quest

Ursula K. Le Guin

Rhythmic Pattern in the Lord of
the Rings

Diane Duane

The Longest Sunday

Douglas A. Anderson

Tolkien After All These Years

Orson Scott Card

How Tolkien Means

Charles de Lint

The Tale Goes Ever On

Lisa Goldstein

The Mythmaker

Glenn Hurdling

"The Radical Distinction. .
. " A Conversation with Tim and Greg Hildebrandt